Freesun News, weekly magazine for travel and tourism, Belgium

National strike at Brussels Airport
Swiss informs : "We have been informed that tomorrow, 28 October 2005, a national strike will be held in Belgium. Therefore we would like to recommend our passengers to be at the airport 3 hours prior to departure".
The public transport (except trains) might also be disrupted. Therefore we recommend passenger travelling to the airport by public transport to take the trains. In case you may have any questions regarding reservations, please contact the SWISS agency helpdesk: Belgium: 078 15 53 28

Thousands of tourists are streaming out of hurricane-battered Cancun, but getting all visitors out looks like a lengthy process, according to wire service reports from Mexico.
Tourism officials said about 6,000 people flew out of Cancun airport Tuesday. They said another 22,000 foreign visitors remained in the area.

Une fin d'année inoubliable
- Une fin d'année originale
- Notre terroir, Vos papilles
- Secret, Mystère et Féerie
- Actualités
En savoir plus.

NEW YORK, -- American Express has announced a nationwide promotion that will give Delta SkyMiles and SkyPoints Credit Cardmembers double miles or double points respectively, on purchases made on their Card from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2005.

How the travel and tourism industry should respond to terrorism is the focus of a debate at World Travel Market next month organized by the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism (IIPT). The panel debate, 'A Strategic Travel Industry Response to International Terrorism', will take place on the World Stage at ExCeL London on Monday 14 November, 15.30 hrs.

Brussel, 27 oktober 2005 - Cathay Pacific voegt per 1 december 2005 een vierde vlucht per dag toe aan de bestaande driemaal daagse vlucht tussen Londen en Hongkong.
Deze bijkomende vlucht zal worden uitgevoerd met Airbus 340-300 in een drieklassen configuratie. De vlucht vertrekt uit Londen om 21.15 en komt de volgende dag om 17.30 (locale tijd) aan in Hongkong. De retourvlucht vertrekt om 9.05 uit Hongkong en komt dezelfde dag om 14.50 in Londen aan.
Deze bijkomende vierde vlucht per dag komt er in een jubileumjaar: Cathay Pacific vliegt al 25 jaar op de route Londen - Hongkong. Het illustreert bovendien de ambitie van de maatschappij om Hongkong als wereldwijde hub te versterken.
Om het jubileumjaar en de vierde dagelijkse vlucht kracht bij te zetten, biedt Cathay Pacific een feesttarief aan naar o.a. Hongkong voor slechts € 636* en Taipei voor slechts € 683*.

Tourism "Tidbits" From Travel Nevada. Read more.

Al sinds begin oktober is Bellewaerde Park volledig ondergedompeld in een typische Halloween sfeer, maar dit weekend wordt zonder twijfel hét hoogtepunt voor het griezelige familiepark in Ieper. Lees meer.

Van luxe kasteelhotel tot charmant familiehotel, vandesignhotel tot authentiek stadshotel, u vindt het op Hotelletje.nl.
Onderscheidende, kleinschalige hotels met in de meestegevallen niet meer dan 35 kamers
Zoek, boek en ga groots genieten!

Air New Zealand has placed firm orders for another two Boeing 787-8 aircraft worth at airframe list price US$117 million each (as at July 2004), in addition to the two it already has on order.

Impressive growth and further expansion for Germany’s premiere low-cost airline
Gemanwings – Germany’s premiere low cost airline – is this week celebrating its third birthday. Since its launch in October 2002, the airline has revealed positive results in many areas, including... Read more

WTM 2005: 'Korea Is The Hottest New Destination In Asia' . Read more.

Thomas Cook communique que tous ses clients séjournant actuellement au Mexique seront de retour en Belgique le jeudi 27 octobre.

Fondé en 2000, le tour-opérateur Weekendesk propose une offre étendue d'arrangements de week-ends ainsi que des chèques-cadeaux pour des activités en tout genre. Désormais, il vend également ses “week-ends” dans son propre magasin à Anvers : superdesk, une réalisation du bureau B-Architecten. Par ailleurs, une foule de nouveaux chèques-cadeaux ont été prévus cet automne ! Commencez d'ores et déjà à choisir vos cadeaux de Noël… il y en a pour tous les goûts ! En savoir plus.

MIAMI, Oct. 26 -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced record net income for the third quarter of 2005 of $374.7 million, or $1.64 per share. This compares to $282.5 million, or $1.26 per share, for the third quarter of 2004. As previously announced, the third quarter of 2005 includes a net gain of $44.2 million, or $0.19 per share, related to the redemption of the company's investment in First Choice Holidays PLC.

Announcement regarding the flight operations of Friday 28 October 2005. Read more.

Vous vous sentez un peu raplapla ? Découvrez le remède miracle proposé par Nouvelles Frontieres pour retrouver joie et vitalité : Faites vos valises, sautez dans votre maillot de bain direction le soleil, l'exotisme, les escapades magiques, les circuits lumineux.
Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus.

CHICAGO, Oct. 26 -- Orbitz, the faster, easier way to find the trip you want, is being recognized as the online travel agency with the highest customer satisfaction when booking a hotel room through an independent website (not a hotel's own website), according J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Independent Hotel Website Study released this week.

Circulation normale pour les Thalys et Eurostar ce vendredi 28 octobre

Pendant la journée d'action nationale en Belgique le vendredi 28 octobre 2005, les Thalys et Eurostar prévoient de circuler normalement.

Pour plus de précisions, Thalys et Eurostar invitent leur clientèle à se renseigner auprès des canaux d'information suivants:

www.Thalys.com	www.eurostar.com
02/528.28.28	070/66.77.88

Dimanche, 30 octobre sera une date historique pour la ville de Dresde avec l'inauguration de la Frauenkirche fraîchement restaurée. En savoir plus.

EURAM: new address.
Euram bought new office space just about 5 km from its existing location.
From the 1st of November the new address is: Euram nv/sa, Remy Toren- Vaartdijk 3, b. 0102, 3018 Leuven (Wijgmaal), Belgium.
Telephone, fax and e-mail do not change.

Net zo divers als het landschap van het Spaanse Navarra is, is de gastronomie dat ook. Want deze autonome regio staat vooral bekend om de heerlijke wijnen en het voortreffelijke eten. Een reis door indrukwekkend Navarra, brengt de reiziger van de Pyreneeën door centraal Navarra naar het waterrijke rivierenlandschap, en is een uitgelezen kans om ook de culinaire schatten te ontdekken. Lees meer.

Dimanche prochain, c'est la nuit d'Halloween. Walibi n'échappera pas aux nombreux fantômes et monstres, c'est pourquoi le parc restera ouvert samedi et dimanche jusque 22h.
Cette année, le parc s'est doté d'une nouvelle attraction : Tornalloween. Tornalloween est un chef-d''oeuvre de créativité qui a déjà attiré, en 4 week-ends, plus de 50.000 visiteurs débordant d'enthousiasme.
Walibi sera ouvert tous les jours durant les vacances de Toussaint et près de 110.000 visiteurs sont attendus pour cette 7e édition d'Halloween.
Walibi est plus que jamais l'endroit à ne pas manquer durant Halloween.

HOUSTON, Oct. 25 -- Continental Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:CAL) is providing extra capacity at Merida, Mexico, to assist in evacuating tourists from the Yucatan Peninsula in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma. Continental is currently the only U.S. carrier operating out of the Yucatan.
The Cancun and Cozumel airports are currently closed. Many evacuees are traveling by land from Cancun and Cozumel to Merida to seek flights. The U.S. State Department has arranged ground transportation to help some evacuees reach Merida.

PURCHASE, N.Y., Oct. 25 -- Eos, the first single-class, premium transatlantic airline, today celebrates its first full week of service between New York JFK and London Stansted airports with its official inaugural flight. The airline features a revolutionary 48 "suite" cabin configuration, providing its guests unparalleled comfort, space and personalized service. The basic unrestricted round trip fare is $6,500, although, Eos is offering a special introductory price of $5,000 round trip until January 3, 2006.

Midwest Airlines to Give Online Buyers the Power to Reprice and Exchange Tickets Via Worldspan Rapid Reprice(R) Technology
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 25 -- Global travel e-commerce leader Worldspan, L.P. signed a new multi-year agreement with Midwest Airlines to further enhance the carrier's Web site with robust Worldspan Rapid Reprice technology. Rapid Reprice is the first and most highly developed tool for repricing airline tickets when itineraries change. The agreement was announced here today at the Computerized Airline Sales and Marketing Association (CASMA) 2005 Annual Conference.
When Rapid Reprice is implemented at www.midwestairlines.com in 2006, travelers will be empowered to change their own itineraries online, in seconds, without the intervention of a customer service representative.

Swiss International Air Lines desservira 69 destinations cet hiver : 42 sur le réseau européen et 27 sur le réseau intercontinental, auxquelles s'ajoutent 15 destinations sans escale au départ de Suisse en partage de code avec d'autres compagnies aériennes. En harmonisant le trafic de proximité, SWISS et Lufthansa proposeront des liaisons plus nombreuses et de meilleures correspondances entre la Suisse et l'Allemagne. L'horaire d'hiver entrera en vigueur le 30 octobre 2005 et prendra fin le 25 mars 2006. En savoir plus.

Ölüdeniz/Turkije, 25 oktober 2005 - Het bekende Turkse vakantieresort LykiaWorld heeft het certificaat ISO 9001 behaald. Gecertificeerd werd het kwaliteitsmanagement van alle afdelingen van LykiaWorld, waaronder Food & Beverage, housekeeping, guest relations, alle sportonderdelen en het excursieteam. ISO 9001 geldt ook voor de externe aanbieders van excursies in LykiaWorld, zoals de gerenommeerde para-glidingschool Escape en de golfschool.

De Europese hogesnelheidsoperatoren Eurostar en Thalys hebben een belangrijke samenwerkingsovereenkomst gesloten, met de bedoeling langdurige voordelen te bieden aan internationale zaken- en vrijetijdsreizigers en om hun ervaring en kennis te delen. Lees meer.

The twenty-sixth International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR 2006, which will take place between 25th and 29th January at Feria de Madrid, will stage the fourth edition of its most recently incorporated specialized section, FITUR RESIDENCIAL. The Residential Tourism Section presents some excellent participation prospects, based on the favourable results achieved at the year 2005 edition, as well as the growing importance of the residential tourism sector in Spain. Read more.

Thomas Cook rejoint le Fonds de Garantie Voyages
A partir du 1er novembre 2005, les brochures de Thomas Cook, Neckermann et Pegase porteront à nouveau le logo du Fonds de Garantie Voyages. En 1996, Thomas Cook avait participé à la création du Fonds de Garantie Voyages mais avait décidé, en 1999, de souscrire une assurance contre l'insolvabilité financière via la société-mère allemande.

JAL Decision to Seek oneworld Membership
Tokyo - October 25, 2005: Japan Airlines (JAL), Asia's largest airline group, has decided to apply to join the multilateral airline alliance, oneworld. Launched in February 1999, oneworld offers a global network provided by eight major airlines in the world, namely American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus, plus their 12 affiliates. Read more.

The New "Costa serena" Takes Shape In Genoa
Costa Crociere, the number one cruise company in Europe and South America, has announced the name of its new ship, which will join the continent's biggest and most advanced fleet in May 2007. The new building will be called the “Costa Serena”, and her name has been chosen in the hope that this is auspicious for renewed friendship and serenity between peoples of different nations that the ship will welcome on board. Read more.

36 Costa stopovers in Tripoli scheduled for 2006, bringing a total of almost 50,000 passengers.
The plans will be announced in the Libyan capital during a meeting between a delegation from Costa Crociere and another delegation representing the Ligurian Regional Administration on a mission to Libya.
Costa Crociere, the leading cruise company in Europe and South America, and one of the first Italian tour operators to do business in Libya, has unveiled plans to bring to 36 the number of its stopovers in the North African country in 2006, which is more than three times as many as the 11 scheduled for 2005.

Tsjechië voordelig wintersport alternatief. Lees meer.

New appointments at Accor Hotels Asia. Read more.

Retour des clients belges de Yucatan
Thomas Cook annonce que l'avion qui a décollé de Merida atterrira vers 12.20h à Amsterdam.
Les clients belges seront transferés en autocar jusqu'à Zaventem.
L'autocar arrivera entre 16.00h et 16.30h au niveau 0 de l'aéroport national.

High speed internet access is being introduced to all Best Western hotel, motels, apartments and resorts worldwide, effective January 1, 2006.

Egypte:
Report de l'application de l'augmentation des prix d'entrée aux sites et prix d'entrée pour la Maison de set Wassila. En savoir plus.

Skyteam and Philips Strengthen Relationship Through Global Contract.
LONDON, Oct. 24, 2005 - Today, Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, announced they have reached an agreement on the framework of the first SkyTeam global contract offering the company competitively-priced, customized travel solutions. Read more.

Southern Florida Recovers from Hurricane Wilma
Florida's North, East and Western Areas Unaffected

Tallahassee, FLA – (October 24, 2005) - Hurricane Wilma crossed lower south Florida and emerged into the Atlantic Ocean fairly quickly Monday leaving areas in the extreme south without power. Local and state officials are working rapidly today to assess the damage created by Hurricane Wilma and restore power. Read more.

On 31 October 2005, Air France and KLM will launch a Strasbourg - Amsterdam service with two daily flights both ways, except at weekends. This new route, on an “AF/KL” code-share basis, will be operated by Régional, an Air France partner airline, in Embraer 135s with a single 37-seater cabin.
For further information click on:
www.airfrance.fr or call 0 820 820 820
www.klm.com or call 0 890 710 710

Madrid, Spain, 24 October 2005: Amadeus has today launched a new communication campaign using the & symbol to express ideas of adding value, offering more, partnership and continuity - all consistent with the growing range of technology solutions offered by the company.
Read more.

Wilfried Van Assche nommé Chief Executive Officer de BIAC
Wilfried Van Assche a été nommé comme nouveau Chief Executive Officer de BIAC. En cette qualité il préside le Comité de direction et est membre du Conseil d'Administration. Il entre en fonction le 1 novembre 2005.

Visit Florida, the official tourism-marketing corporation for the state of Florida, has signed up to take part in BITTM, the Beijing International Travel and Tourism Market, taking place April 3-5, 2006. BITTM offers international tourism organisations the chance meet Chinese travel professionals with a view to creating partnerships and international alliances. It is the only dedicated outbound travel event for the fastest growing travel market in the world - China.

The opening of the four-star Ramada Hotel & Suites Coventry city centre sees the arrival of one of the world's largest international hotel brands in the town. Featuring contemporary design, the hotel is located in the former BT building, which has been completely stripped, renovated and refurbished to a four-star standard. The 17-storey, 166-bedroom property has a mix of modern bedrooms and suites, an Italian restaurant and bar, five conference rooms and employs a team of 40 local people.
For reservations and further information, call 02476 238 120, or visit www.ramadacoventry.co.uk

Brussels Airport : Direct flights to the United Arab Emirates and Toronto as from end October. Read more

Nouvelles d'Allemagne
La Saxe, l'autre Allemagne
Les parcs nationaux en Allemagne
Le monde merveilleux des poupées de Hellenthal
Massage à la brosse d'abbaye en Forêt-Noire
La Moselle, superbe destination automnale
L'eglise Notre-Dame de Dresde inaugurée
En savoir plus.

Introducing the latest business results of the Austrian Airlines Group, Vagn Soerensen, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Management, made the following statement: 'After the improvements of the second quarter, we succeeded in gaining new market share in the third quarter and generated a clearly positive quarterly result with above-average traffic growth. This regenerative strength proved to be particularly well developed in our Focus East regions of Eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East. However, as we enter the winter season, when demand is traditionally weaker, it is important that we maintain a proper sense of proportion. Kerosene prices are high and look set to continue at their current level, and there is serious overcapacity in the European market. We are currently reducing production, strictly controlling costs, introducing greater flexibility into our resources and launching offensive sales promotions in the market in an effort to raise our share of available demand. The recovery in the quarter has been an important initial step, as we prepare ourselves for takeoff in 2006.'

Nieuw bij Interhome!
Naast Florida heeft Interhome zijn aanbod in de Verenigde Staten uitgebreid met vakantiewoningen in Colorado en Utah. Lees meer.

Austrian Airlines : CEO Will Not Extend His Contract. Vagn Soerensen: 'Reasons of a private nature. I have always enjoyed working for the Austrian Airlines Group in Austria very much, and continue to do so. I shall of course offer my complete commitment for the remaining eleven months of my contract.'

SYDNEY – October 20, 2005- China Southern Airlines, will offer a brand new standard of service on Australia-China flights from next month, with the introduction of new Airbus A330-200 aircraft and cocoon-style flat bed seats in Premium Business Class.

ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations
Berlin, October 2005 – Numerous innovations and a fascinating programme will accompany the third occasion of the world’s largest tourism convention next year. The forthcoming event once again includes the ITB Aviation Day, introduced in 2005, whose focus on airlines, aircraft and airports proved an immediate success. The segments ITB Future and Innovation Forum are also a part of the programme at the ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations. Read more.